The Bells

E37992

"The Bells" is a lyrical poem by Edgar Allan Poe that uses musical repetition and onomatopoeia to evoke the changing moods and stages of life through the sounds of different bells.


Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf lyrical poem
poem
author Edgar Allan Poe
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
depictsSound alarm bells
funeral bells
sleigh bells
wedding bells
firstPublicationDate 1849
firstPublishedIn Sartain's Union Magazine
form narrative progression through sound
genre lyric poetry
hasAuthorRole Poe as poet
includedIn collections of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry
influenced later sound-focused poetry
language English
literaryMovement Romanticism
meter irregular
notableFeature crescendo of emotional intensity
heavy use of sound devices
increasing length of stanzas
musicality of language
periodOfComposition late in Poe's career
rhymeScheme variable
setToMusicBy various composers
structure four stanzas
subjectOf literary criticism
scholarly analysis
symbol bells
brazen bells
golden bells
iron bells
silver bells
theme alarm and terror
death and mourning
joy and celebration
passage of time
stages of life
tone joyful in early stanzas
melancholic in final stanza
ominous in later stanzas
usesLiteraryDevice alliteration
assonance
internal rhyme
onomatopoeia
repetition

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Edgar Allan Poe notableWork The Bells